


Bravery

by somegunemojis



Series: Tender Mercies [20]
Category: Original Work
Genre: M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-09-05
Updated: 2020-09-05
Packaged: 2021-03-06 17:14:40
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 444
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26302519
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/somegunemojis/pseuds/somegunemojis
Summary: It's a word that never meant anything to him, but he thinks he's getting it now.
Relationships: Bettino Tahan/Alessio Rossi
Series: Tender Mercies [20]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1893175





	Bravery

November, 2015 -- Near Kandahar, Afghanistan.

Rossi looks gaunt in the watery sunlight of the early morning, the cloud cover leaving everything washed out and colorless. He’s clutching an arm full of manila folders, his eyes are too wide in his face, and he’s just a little too thin-- too many hours spent digging for secrets, not enough eating or sleeping. Tahan imagines the same could be said of him, though he’s mostly been doing legwork, running the occasional errand for Rossi and working double time to keep the others from getting suspicious of them. 

Most of his sleeplessness came from the flashes of a little pink coat and a growing red stain. Even now he finds the memory hard to shake. 

Tahan finishes off his cigarette and turns to face him, throwing it into the rocky dirt at their feet and grinding the cherry out with the toe of his boot, blowing smoke off to the side. He watches him carefully for a moment. “Is that all of it?”

Rossi nods.

“You know, they might not do anything about this. Or they could kill us.” The reminder is half-hearted. Tahan had already said his piece. 

Rossi nods again, shifting his grip on the papers. His fingers are steady, not a sign of trembling. Nerves of steel, all wrapped up in silk. 

“Is it worth it?” He already knows what the kid (28 is hardly a kid, but it's still younger than him, and even now he clings to it pettily) is going to say, but he thinks maybe he needs the reassurance himself. That they’re doing the brave thing. The right thing. The thing to be proud of.

Pale brown eyes lock with his own, turned molten gold by the rising sun. Fire burns in them, and in his bleeding fucking heart, willing to die to get it right. The next words out of his mouth will haunt Tahan and his dreams for the rest of his life, the rawness of his voice, how steady it is despite how obviously he’d been crying and trying to hide it on and off all night. “It’s always worth it,” he says, like it’s that easy. 

Maybe for him, it is that easy. Maybe for him, the bravery and the kindness comes naturally. Tahan nods, and holds out his hands for the papers. “Alright then. I’ll go in first. No reason to get you into any trouble, right? If things go to shit for me, I need to know you’ve got my back.”

Rossi hands the stack over and claps him over the shoulder, a weak smile flickering on and then off his face. “I always will.”


End file.
